BAB Firsts - Karen says: Welcome to the Sanctum, Part 1

This post was originally published on November 30 2009

Since Doug has shared many of his treasures with all of us here at the blog, I thought I might welcome all of you into my comics sanctum, a place where I can meditate on all things geek. The sanctum is in a constant state of flux, with new arrivals coming in, and old favorites being pulled out of a closet or box to take their place on a shelf or wall for a little while.

I will ask you to pardon the dust, as living in the desert makes it nearly impossible to keep things dust-free for very long. Hopefully the overall cool factor will make up for that!

First off - come on in.

You see here the view from the doorway. Dead center is one of the most essential elements of any sanctum - the comfy chair. In fact, this chair is so comfy, it is often a struggle to stay awake in it. Many a comics review has started here, only to be delayed by a nap.

Behind the chair is the one item I almost regret buying, Captain America's shield. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful replica (and hefty too), but I still can't believe I spent so much money on it. Easily the most expensive 'toy' I've ever bought.

To the left of the shield is an autographed picture of the Man himself, Stan Lee. Also included in that photo frame is a small piece of paper, on which I got both Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's autographs back in 1975 at the San Diego Comic Con. It's a long story but let's just say that Kirby signed first and when Stan saw his signature, I wasn't sure I would get his autograph! However, Stan was a great guy and did sign - although he turned the paper upside down - so Kirby's name was not above his?

To the right of the shield is one of my favorite posters, Alex Ross' interpretation of Marvel in the 1970s. It has an amazing number of 70s characters on it, all in the beautiful Ross style. You'll notice as we look around the sanctum that a lot of my art is from Ross. What can I say? He's the best.
Also in the first pic you can see some comic boxes. Those are primarily either some of my favorite books, or new books. Besides the boxes there I have another 12 in the closet of the room, and the vast bulk, 24 more, downstairs in the vault (aka the utility closet). I really need to sell some books.

Proclaiming their prowess from the top of the comic boxes are Thor and Doctor Doom. I'm not an action figure collector but my fiance thought these were great and he knows they are two of my favorite characters, so he got them for me. They do look really outstanding. In the window are the Avengers mini-mates figures, going all out against Ultron.

In the corner atop the bookcase is my tribute to Ray Harryhausen, the incredibly skilled artist behind Jason and the Argonauts, Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and so many other classic fantasy films that were my bread and butter as a kid. Harryhausen made these creatures come alive, with their own personalities and idiosyncrasies. I can never get enough of his work.


The bookcase below the Harryhausen figures holds primarily my film reference books, my comics DVD-ROMs, and my Lord of the Rings books. The Creature from the Black Lagoon holds a business card for the now defunct Parkway Theater in Oakland, California. The Parkway was an amazing place with the feel of an old glamorous theater that had aged somewhat. They would serve pizza and sandwiches (and beer), and they were home to Thrillville, a wonderful venue for all films strange and wonderful. Thrillville was a once-a-month show hosted by Will the Thrill and his wife, Monica the Tiki Goddess. It had to be experienced to believed. Let's just say I had a lot of great nights at Thrillville -and I saw the Creature in 3-D there too.

And before you ask, yes, that metallic Godzilla does look pretty weird. It opens up to reveal a secret base inside, with a tank, jet plane, launching missiles, and some sort of odd, telescoping pole. I have no idea why this exists but I bought it about 25 years ago and it still makes me shake my head whenever I see it.

Next time: The Corner of the Jedi!

UPDATE: Karen here, speaking to you from the future -well, from Jan 2, 2015. I was stunned to see this post from five years ago. The room has changed so much, especially over this past Christmas. I'd like to add a couple of pictures, just for comparison's sake -and for posterity:

Karen says: Check out my room -again

Karen: Since my partner recently updated everyone on the state of his comic room, I thought I would do the same. I am at the point where I am having to rotate things now; there's too much to keep it all out and adequately displayed. Even now it feels a bit cramped! But I still enjoy  looking around whenever I sit down in my 'sanctum'.

I've asked my husband to take some wide-angle shots of the room with his super-duper Nikon camera. I'll try to give some comments on each one. If you'd like to see how much things have changed, you can take a gander at this post: http://bronzeagebabies.blogspot.com/2009/11/karen-says-welcome-to-sanctum-part-1.html, from way back in 2009. I still have a lot of the items pictured there (like the comfy chair) but a lot of new goodies too. Most everything is modern; all the toys and models I had as a child got tossed when I moved out of my parents' house (by me, not them). So the stuff I have here has all been accumulated in the last ten years or so.

Here's a shot as you enter the room:

From left to right we have Star Trek items, Planet of the Apes, various science fiction film characters, my Avengers mini-mates, the Cap shield, the Frankenstein shelf, the Creature shelf (and Universal monsters  below him), then assorted 50s' sci-fi critters on top of right-hand glass case, a Frankenstein-Dracula-Wolfman face-off, some Star Wars figures, and Adam Warlock.

The next view is looking from the comfy chair:

Here you can see Galactus and the Silver Surfer hanging out on the sub-woofer,  the TV (obviously), and the assortment of posters that cover the walls and closet doors. Most of the smaller comic posters are from either the Asgard press calendars or the Eaglemoss figurine magazines. Hiding behind the TV is the shelves with some smaller figures, mainly super-heroes. This next shot shows that  shelving a bit better:

All of my Avengers Eaglemoss lead figures are on the top shelf. I got the Black Panther for Christmas. The only figure I still really want now is Hercules. The Justice League have their own shelf a little further down.

Here's a shot of the Frankenstein and Creature shelves. I got back into the classic monsters in a big way a few years ago, and these two are my favorites (like you couldn't tell).

A continuation of the Frankenstein theme carries over to the shelf below the top one, where we also have Marvel's Zombie hanging out. I really love this Bowen mini-bust and statue.

Next up a shot of the southwest corner glass case and bookcase with a lot of my larger figures on top.My trades and masterworks  are all below. I'm at the point though where I need a bigger bookcase for them all. 

I'd like to end with a look at my mini-mates. I know, probably too cutesy for most of you guys, but I love the little buggers. And a big plus -they don't take up a lot of space!

I hope you enjoyed your tour through my little hideaway. If you have any questions about anything, please ask away!

Edit: Since some of you asked to see my trades, here's a shot of them:

Karen says: Welcome to the Sanctum, part 4

Welcome back to part 4 of my own little magical mystery tour of my comics room, or The Sanctum, as I like to call it. Today we'll be looking at the southwest corner, which is home to both the Justice League of America and all things Star Trek.

Besides Marvel Comics, Star Trek is probably the other major influence on my childhood. When I say Star Trek, I'm talking old school here: the original show, with the legendary team of Kirk and Spock (and McCoy too). Although I did enjoy Next Generation, and I really liked Deep Space Nine, classic Trek is and always shall be, my favorite.

On my bookshelf here you will see a signed photo of Kirk and Spock. For some reason I really dug the black and white picture, and managed to get it signed by William Shatner and then a year later, signed by Leonard Nimoy. It's one of my favorite items in my collection.

On the table in front of the photo are a variety of Trek knick-knacks, including a Spock button I purchased way back in 1975 at the San Diego Comic Con -my first convention -and some poker chips from the Las Vegas Hilton, former home of the Star Trek Experience. There's also a nice communicator replica that a friend got for me. As a kid I had a ton of Trek toys, models, Mego figures, etc, but that stuff is all gone now. Mostly I just have my books and autographed photos.

On the wall to the left of that photo are autographed pics of Shatner and Ricardo Montalban. I was very lucky to see Montalban at a Star Trek Creation Convention in Pasadena; I believe it was his only convention appearance. He was a wonderful speaker; I enjoyed his honesty, as he said there was no work for "crippled old mexicans" in Hollywood! Still, despite his obvious frustrations, he was a perfect gentleman, and despite being in considerable pain from back problems, he signed hundreds of autographs, and was gracious and friendly when I spoke to him.

I have gotten Shatner's autograph three times now. Although I have an insane admiration and love for The Man, he can be somewhat indifferent when signing. I did manage to get his attention one time when I mentioned that I loved his film Incubus, a film where all of the dialogue was in Esperanto. That got a very strange look from him. I don't know if he thought I was joking, or if he was afraid I was serious and possibly dangerous.

Nimoy on the other hand has been very friendly the couple of times I have met him. Unlike his Spock role, he seems to be a very warm guy. I also met George Takei (Sulu) outside of a convention panel one time and had a brief conversation with him, which resulted in taking a photo together. A year later, I returned to the convention and brought the photo for him to autograph. He looked at it and said, "I remember this!" and we chatted briefly, much to the annoyance of the folks in line behind me! Another good egg was the late James Doohan (Scotty). Back in the days before the Trek cons became so commercialized - ie, back when autographs were free! - I was able to meet Doohan a couple of times. He was a gregarious guy and loved talking to people. After one show in San Francisco, I spotted him in a gourmet market at Fisherman's Wharf, strolling around shopping. People came up to him and he was just as nice as could be.

Then on the other hand...I hate to say this, because the character of Uhura is so dear to me, but Nichelle Nichols was not the nicest person I ever got to sign. I think the reason for this was, the photo I asked her to sign was a group shot from Star Trek II, and her face was partially in shadow. All I know is, when I slid the photo before her, she looked at it, then looked up at me with a frown. She then turned to a friend sitting next to her and pointed to the picture. Her friend then also frowned at me. She signed it but said nothing to me. A few years later at another convention, the program explicitly stated that "Ms. Nichols will not sign photos where her face is obscured". Well OK!

The other residents of this area are the Justice League. I absolutely love the Bruce Timm Justice League cartoon and these large and small figures are here because of that. The glasses are ancient history. I got them from Taco Bell back in the mid70s. At one time I had all of them - the set included not just the ones here but also Superman and Wonder Woman - but only Aquaman, Batman, and Robin have survived. Unfortunately we didn't know back in those days not to put these glasses in the dishwasher! Because of that they are quite faded, but I still enjoy having them around to look at.

Up above this area of the room, I have some small sci fi posters, and a couple of copies of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, signed by the late, wonderful Forrest Ackerman. I had been hoping to get Ray Harryhausen's autograph on the same magazines at the same time but unfortunately I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe some day though...

Last but not least, although it's not technically part of the sanctum, my tiki mug shelf would be in the sanctum if I still had any wall space! These tiki mugs, shot glasses, coasters, and swizzles sticks come from a variety of tiki bars (and stores) chiefly in California and Arizona. What's ironic about all this is I'm not actually a drinker -I just like the way they look! I'm particularly fond of the top shelf, which includes a nifty rocket decanter, as well as robot and space-alien mugs. A good source for cool tiki mugs is Tiki Farm (http://www.tikifarm.com/index.asp). There's just something about the tiki aesthetic; it fits in perfectly with comics, sci fi flicks, and monsters! One of these days, I'll have to provide a tour of the Orbit Room, my outdoor tiki patio/lounge. But we'll save that for another time! I hope you all enjoyed this little glimpse at one woman's idea of heaven.

Welcome to the Sanctum, Part 3

Okay partners, we're moving on to another area of my comics and pop-culture sanctum today. We'll see super-heroes, monsters, aliens, and even Mickey Mouse! Sure it's eclectic, but variety is the spice of life and all that.

Here you see an assortment of posters, although 3 of them are all by the same artist, the amazing Alex Ross. The largest of them is a recent X-Men poster he did, which unfortunately is reflecting some light from outside. But it's a spectacular work with all the really worthwhile X-Men, although for some reason Gambit is there. I like how he depicts the original X-Men in their old 'school uniforms'.

Above and to the right of that is a print Ross did many years ago, probably around the time the "Marvels" series came out, called "Heroes" (there was a companion piece, called "Villains" of course, but I don't have that). It's a nice look at the Marvel heroes circa about 1964 -it kind of blows my mind when I realize how small the Marvel Universe was at one time.

The picture to the far right is really what I consider my gem: the Avengers, with Ross painting over the late great John Buscema's pencils. It's a truly gorgeous piece, and also signed by Ross.

Above the X-Men poster are 4 small posters, all recent acquisitions. I discovered these as part of a Marvel calendar for 2010. It was an 18 month calendar, so there were 18 classic covers! They are 11" X 17". I could easily quibble with some of the choices -and particularly over what was left out - but in general I'm very happy to have these. The calendar was perforated so the pages were easily removed. I have a few more of these around the Sanctum.

Below and to the right of the posters are my busts and statuettes. I have a good friend who started getting busts as gifts for me - the Namor and Dr. Doom ones were from him - and then I began to add to it slowly. My fiance also contributed a few.


We'll go shelf by shelf. First, the monsters.


We have some more Harryhausen critters here, including (from left to right) Talos from Jason and the Argonauts, a skeleton also from Jason, and the dragon and cyclops from Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Behind them are two great robots from the 1950s, Robby the Robot, and Gort from The Day The Earth Stood Still. On the right side of the shelf are a set of busts that originally came in the "Universal Monsters Legacy DVD" box set. Besides these excellent busts, you got complete collections of the Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolfman films from Universal Studios. These busts are well-done, and I really wish they had put some out for the Mummy and Creature from the Black Lagoon too.

And now shelf 2: classic Marvel heroes:


On the far lest is a statuette of the Vision, one of my all-time favorite Avengers. Next to him is of course the Star-Spangled Avenger, Captain America himself, and his lunchbox rests behind him. The mighty god of thunder, Thor, completes this mini-Avengers section. Then we're on to another favorite, the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing! An outstanding bust designed by Ross, and a very cool Thing vs. Hulk piece that recreates a scene from Marvel Feature #12.

Shelf number 3 is That 70s Shelf!

Ah yes, I love the 70s so much that I have a whole shelf devoted to it! We start with the super-cool Defenders mini-mates (including Namor in his black leather S&M threads), the Phoenix in full glory (this was from the Hero Clix game), and an X-Men tin from Nabisco (I think). Then we come to the cosmic coalition, with decidedly non-70s mini-mate versions of Gamora and Nova -but they were 70s characters, so it still counts - a genuine 70s Warlock Slurpee cup, another nice statuette of Warlock, a Thanos mini-mate (watch out, he has the Infinity Gauntlet!), and then my favorite zombie cyborg, Deathlok, in both a Ross-inspired bust and statuette.

Next stop: Disney.


My fiance collects Disney watches, and they often come in very decorative tins or containers. The one on the left is hard to see but has a silver colored Mickey head on it. Next is a wooden and glass case from Fantasia. Then there's the Aladdin tin, and the best of all, a cool semi-bust of Mickey as the Sorcerer's Apprentice.

The last two shelves are a hodge podge.

The Doom bust is a classic and I absolutely love it. It has occupied the top shelf more than once! But for now, I gave it over to the monsters, and the good doctor will have to wait his turn. Next to him are the Invaders mini-mates. For this and the Civil War mini-mates to the right, I made copies of covers, in this case Invaders #1, to use as a backdrop for the mini-mates. An exquisite Barbara Gordon Bat-Girl is next. She is still the only Bat-Girl to me. A statuette of John Stewart (the Green Lantern, not the talk show host) from the Justice League cartoon is my only other DC representative here. I really need to see about getting a few more DC pieces. And then there is the afore-mentioned Civil War mini-mate set.

On the very bottom is a set of Iron Man armors - modern, Silver Centurion, and a cool retro version. Some Iron Man mini-mates are bouncing around the bases of the busts. Iron Man used to be a part of the Avengers set, but I decided to split them up - hey, just like the comics! The proud Sub-Mariner occupies the last spot.

These busts all get moved around a lot, and I have some Star Wars busts that are awaiting a new bookshelf before they can return to the sanctum. Our next stop will be where no man has gone before- with a detour to the Halls of Justice!

Karen says: Welcome to the Sanctum, part 2

The next part of the Sanctum is focused on that modern classic, Star Wars. Not "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" but Star Wars, the original film, and its two sequels. In the Sanctum, the so-called prequels do not exist. George Lucas' "revisions" also do not exist. In the Sanctum, Han shoots first!

Here you see four examples of an "elegant weapon for a more civilized age". My fiance and I are such epic geeks that one Christmas we actually gave each other lightsabers for gifts. It was another sign that the relationship was meant to be, as neither of us had said a thing to the other about it prior. After that, we acquired two more. We had read that displaying them in a horizontal position could lead to the blades bending. Luckily I was able to find a seller on ebay who had vertical wall mounts for these sabers. Just in case you're wondering, the first one is Mace Windu's (the only violation of the no prequel rule, but come on, it's purple), the next is Vader's, then Luke's, and finally Obi-Wan's. The glorious Star Wars poster that I recalled from the theater as a bright-eyed kid adorns the wall. And of course, they look spectacular when they are all activated!







They also make quite a racket when all four are turned on!

Next to the big poster are two 8 X 10 autographed photos. The first is from David Prowse, who likes to sign his pictures as "David Prowse IS Darth Vader" !! I got to chat with him at a Star Trek convention a few years ago and he was absolutely lovely, very friendly and even had me come around the other side of the table to take a picture with him.

The second picture is of his "son", Mark Hamill. He was signing at another convention. Mark was a great guy, very enthusiastic and welcoming to his fans. I love this picture of Luke from Return of the Jedi. I was so impressed by Luke's growth as a jedi! Luke was a real icon to me as a kid, in a way my other heroes, like Captain Kirk or Mr. Spock couldn't be. He was young, restless, and needed to find himself. I could easily see myself in him.

There's some blank space above the Star Wars poster that is going to host my autographed Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia picture. Getting her autograph was a different experience than the first two. Let's just say Ms. Fisher would rather kiss a wookiee than sign autographs and leave it at that. As soon as I get a frame for it, it will go up, regardless of her attitude! I'm hoping this spring I can get Peter Mayhew's autograph to finish off that space. I missed him the last time I saw him at a con (he went to lunch when I came by and that was that).

That's probably the last Star Wars-related autograph I might want. I don't really feel the need to get a bunch of these - seems like there are always folks at conventions who had some bit role, like "third jawa on the left" or something akin to that, who are trying to hock their autographs. It was really bad at the old Trek conventions I used to go to, when you'd have all these 'red shirts' trying to sell signed photos for $20 a pop. And yet...people would still buy these things! To each his own, I suppose.

Next time: more Ross, and some outstanding busts! (stop thinking dirty)